Fiber finishing compositions are a necessary part of modern, high speed synthetic fiber manufacture. Virtually all operations performed on the fibers following their being spun from the melt require the presence of suitable fiber finishes to prevent snarling and breaking, thus enabling high fiber throughput. Generally speaking, a fiber finish must provide several qualities with respect to both the interaction between the fiber and the machinery on which it is processed, and also the interactions among the fiber filaments themselves. This property is usually termed "lubricity" although in reality the change in the interactions caused by the fiber lubricant may occasionally result in a desirable increase in friction as well as the decrease in friction ordinarily associated with the term "lubricant."
When producing fibers for use in surgical devices, a spin finish which remains on the device even in small amounts should be non-toxic. Alternatively, the spin finish must be vigorously washed from the fiber at some point during the preparation of the surgical device. Spin finishes containing vegetable oils, fatty acids and/or surfactants have been used in treating fibers employed in making surgical devices. Such finishes must normally be removed from the fibers by washing the fibers with solvents such as chlorofluorocarbons. However, the use of chlorofluorocarbons has recently raised environmental concerns. In addition, such washing requirements greatly increase the cost of fiber production.
Fiber treating compositions which contain glycerol or glycerol-related substances are described in British Patent No. 1,248,513 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,219,415; 1,691,764; 2,151,952; 3,159,964; 3,954,721; 3,963,432; 4,124,543; 4,624,793; and 4,800,117.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,635 describes a xylene based fiber finish for absorbable glycolic acid polymer fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,926 describes passing fibers used to make sutures through two heated glycerine baths during the drawing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,859 describes drawing fibers through a heated glycerine stretch bath.